Rev. David Holwick W Make It Count, #4
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
July 3, 2011
Numbers 6:1-9
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I. The American Revolution was not a piece of cake.
A. Those who signed the Declaration paid a steep price.
We often reduce the Revolution to some potshots at Lexington
and Concord, the signing of the Declaration, the troops
shivering at Valley Forge, and victory at Yorktown.
There was a lot more to it than that.
New Jersey signers were the only ones to lose sons in the
war.
John Witherspoon was the only active preacher to sign the
Declaration and a resident of Princeton.
He saw his eldest son, James, killed in the Battle of
Germantown in October 1777.
Abraham Clark of Elizabethtown saw two of his sons captured
by the British and incarcerated on the prison ship Jersey.
Richard Stockton, also of Princeton, was the only signer
taken prisoner specifically because of his status as a
signatory to the Declaration.
He was "dragged from his bed by night" by local Tories after
he had evacuated his family from New Jersey.
Stockton was imprisoned in New York City's infamous Provost
Jail like a common criminal.
However, Stockton was also the only one of the 56 signers
who repudiated the Declaration of Independence and got a
pardon after he renewed his allegiance to George III.
B. New Jersey soldiers had it even rougher.
In the hard winter of 1779, Morristown had snow on the
ground for three months, sometimes up to four feet high.
All the roads were impassible.
Private Joseph Plumb Martin went four days without food
except for some black birch bark he gnawed on.
He saw some other soldiers roast their old shoes and eat
them.
For much of the war, Private Martin didn't even have shoes,
or socks.
Some of the officers roasted a pet dog.
The suffering was too much for some of them.
In that hard winter of 1779, the New Jersey Brigade mutinied
and had to be opposed by force.
Not everyone can keep up the required dedication.
#63445
C. The sixth chapter of Numbers is about special dedication.
1) It wasn't required of all the Israelites.
a) It was something you had to do voluntarily.
b) For most people, it was done for just a specific period.
2) The only thing you could gain was spiritual satisfaction.
3) How much commitment are you willing to give God?
II. The vow of the Nazirite.
A. Not to be confused with Nazarite (citizen of Jesus' hometown).
1) Although sometimes it is spelled with two "a"s.
2) Jesus was not a Nazirite-type person, but his cousin
John the Baptist definitely was.
B. This inner commitment had an outward sign.
1) You looked different.
2) You ate different.
3) You acted different.
III. The principle of separation.
A. Abstain from alcohol and all grape products.
1) Ensures clarity of mind.
a) If they act drunk, people would know it was their joy
in the Lord and not booze that did it.
2) Separation from worldly or sensual pleasures.
a) Hosea 3:1 refers to "raisin cakes of the pagans."
b) The world may enjoy rich food and wild parties, but
Nazirites were to be focused wholly on God.
B. Abstain from cutting hair.
1) This was the most famous aspect of the most famous Nazirite:
Samson.
2) The long hair would be a visible sign of separation from
the world.
a) They would look different.
b) But some see it as a symbol of strength and vitality.
C. Abstain from contact with dead bodies.
1) Receives greater detail than the other prohibitions.
a) Death represents God's curse so it must be avoided.
2) Even accidental contact nullified the vow.
a) Jewish history tells of a queen who made a seven-year
vow as a Nazirite.
At the end of the sixth year, one of her attendants
dropped dead in the throne room.
She had to start all over again, which she did.
b) Nazirites were not allowed to grieve.
1> There is no sorrow in God's presence.
2> This may be behind Jesus' statement in Matt 8:21,
that the dead should bury the dead.
A> The ministry of serving Jesus is the higher
priority.
B> His statement breathes the spirit of a Nazirite
vow.
IV. The principle of consecration.
A. What they aimed for was greater than what they gave up.
1) The vow was a special promise to God.
a) Both men and women could make it.
b) They didn't have to be a priest or even in the tribe
of Levi.
2) Separation is a negative principle while consecration is
positive.
a) The person would see the vow as a way to honor God
and draw close to him.
B. The reasons why a person might make the vow:
1) An outward act of consecration to God.
2) Making up for a sin they had repented of. (penance)
3) An inward act that reminded them of their devotion to God.
V. Should Christians be Nazirites?
A. Jesus discouraged making vows.
1) In Matthew 23 he criticizes the way people manipulate vows.
2) In the Sermon on the Mount he says instead of making vows
we should just be forthright in everything we do.
Matt 5:33-37
3) Yet the Apostle Paul made vows. Acts 18:18
a) For one of them, he even shaved his head.
b) This was probably the beginning of a Nazirite vow - he
would not shave again until he completed the task.
B. Separation remains a valid emphasis.
1) Christians are supposed to be different from the world.
a) Some focus on making the differences visible.
1> Amish and their old-fashioned clothes and habits.
2> Fundamentalists who wear narrow black ties and
have their women wear long dresses.
3> My "Jesus Freak" days in high school when I wore
Christian buttons on my shirt.
A> I doubt I would be caught dead doing that now.
b) Inner differences are more important.
1> Christians shouldn't get their kicks from booze or
pot or fooling around.
2> We should be more disciplined, more generous, more
loving.
2) Baptists used to be known for separation.
a) A few habits like dancing or movies were the focus.
b) These days we seem to have gone the other way,
embracing the world.
1> A church our Sarah attends, recently announced
they were holding a Bible study in a microbrewery.
2> You can't get much more non-Nazirity than that.
C. Consecration is the ultimate goal.
1) When we become saved, we turn from sin and turn to God.
a) Repentance is only half the process.
b) We must also seek God with all our heart.
2) Consecration doesn't require killing a thousand men with
the jawbone of a donkey, like Samson did. Judg 15:15
a) In reality, Samson was a lousy Nazirite.
1> He had little self-control and focused on his own
desires rather than God.
b) True consecration means you honor God in the big things,
and in the little things.
Fred Craddock catches the practical side of consecration.
He told a group of ministers:
To give my life for Christ appears glorious.
To pour myself out for others... to pay the ultimate price
of martyrdom -- I'll do it.
I'm ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory.
We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000
bill and laying it on the table.
"Here's my life, Lord. I'm giving it all."
But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the
bank and has us cash in the $1,000 for quarters.
We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents
there.
Listen to the neighbor kid's troubles instead of saying,
"Get lost".
Go to a committee meeting.
Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home.
Usually giving our life to Christ isn't glorious.
It's done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a
time.
It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it's harder
to live the Christian life little by little over the
long haul. #1835
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 1835 “The Practical Implications of Consecration,” by Darryl Bell of
Maple Grove, Minnesota; Leadership, April 5, 1998, page 47.
#63445 “The American Revolution Was Not A Piece of Cake,” by David Holwick;
material taken from "The Price They Paid," by Barbara Mikkelson,
<http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp>, July 3,
2011; "Joseph Plumb Martin, A Narrative of some of the Adventures,
Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier (1830),"
<http://wadsworth.com/history_d/special_features/ilrn_legacy/
waah1c01c/content/amh1/readings/plumb.html>
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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James Philip
I. Separation is key idea in this chapter.
A. Nazirite vow is one of separation.
B. Reasons:
1) Act of consecration.
2) Penance.
3) Reminder of devotion to God.
C. Duration.
1) Limited (30 days?)
2) Lifetime.
a) Samson.
II. Conditions of vow.
A. Abstain from alcohol and all grape products.
1) Ensures clarity of mind.
2) Separation from worldly or sensual pleasures.
a) Hosea 3:1 refers to "raisin cakes of the pagans."
B. Abstain from cutting hair.
1) Visible sign of separation from world.
2) Or, symbol of strength and vitality.
C. Abstain from contact with dead bodies.
1) Receives greater detail.
2) Even accidental contact nullifies the vow.
a) Death represents God's curse.
b) They were not allowed to grieve.
1> This may be behind Jesus' statement in Matt 8:21.
2> It breathes the spirit of a Nazirite vow.
III. Christian application.
A. Consecration and separation are constant Christian virtues.
1) Separate from anything that panders to the senses.
2) James Elliot: "Make me Thy fuel, flame of God."
B. Should Christians take vows?
1) Paul seems to have done it. Acts 18:18, 21:18-26
a) He was not attached to "things."
b) Are things too prominent for us?
C. Lifelong separation unto God.
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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